Tracing the Portrayal of Disability in Indian Cinema Introduction Cinema Is Considered to Be a Powerful Medium That Reflects the Happenings in a Society

Tracing the portrayal of disability in Indian cinema Introduction Cinema is considered to be a powerful medium that reflects the happenings in a society. While it is caught up between the real and reel life, it still serves as an important medium of entertaining people, educating them and bringing a behavioral change in their practices and attitudes. Given the reach of the Bollywood industry in India and across the world, it has been particularly effective in changing people's perception and uprooting societal stereotypes. This is perhaps the reason that The Nehru government funded Hindi films as early as in 1948 with the objective of disseminating the ideas of a free Indian nation that possessed its own identity free from Western influences (Dissanayake, Jaikumar). Disability is an important issue that is widely misunderstood even today in India. Research has consistently found substantial social marginalization of people with disabilities and a lack of sensitization and awareness in the general public. Unfortunately, the traditional concept of "disability and karma" where disability is often perceived as a punishment for misdeeds in the past lives or crimes committed by the parents, continues to be a common belief amongst not only the less educated, but also well-educated urban dwellers. Several other similar stereotypes and taboos abound in our society. While several disability NGOs and activist groups have employed different strategies to break these stereotypes and bring about awareness, it is evident that their reach has been limited. Given the lack of awareness and direct experience with disability, media representations such as film representations can provide powerful and memorable definitions for the public. In films that depict a character with a disability, the character rises to the occasion in order to exemplify people with that particular disability – showing to the audience how individuals with that disability behave, feel, communicate, exhibit symptoms and experience life. It, thus, becomes important that disability is presented responsibility. This paper analyzes the representation of disability, while also analyzing the role of Bollywood in the disability movement in the country. To do so, the paper traces the portrayal of disability in Hindi movies from the 1930s to the present using some select movies. The paper also discusses the recent trend of portrayal of invisible disabilities, besides analyzing the impact of these movies on the disability movement in the country through three case studies. Finally, the paper explores the impact of other social barriers such as socioeconomic and gender disparities on the representation of disability. Representation of disability in the Indian cinema There have been two trends in film-making insofar as Bollywood films are concerned. While several film-makers have used disability as a comic interlude or to give a dramatic twist to their script with scant regard for the rights of a large group of people with disabilities, there have been some film-makers who have been able to build a tale around the insensitivity of society towards the disabled. As Dr. Atanu Mohipatra notes, "portrayal of disability in films swings primarily between two extremes – pity, fun, caricaturing, sympathy, and awesome heroism are at one end of the spectrum while discrimination, coping-up, emotional swings and aspirations of the human soul are at the other end." (Mohipatra) This section discusses these different representations of disability in Bollywood. Disability as punishment Disability has been widely regarded as a punishment in India for quite sometime, and this has been the most popular representation of disability in our films as well (Pal). One of the earliest films to portray disability as punishment was the 1936 Bombay Talkies film, Jeevan Naiya. The film, written by Niranjan Pal was driven by an idea of social justice in film, and used his screenwriting as a means of highlighting problems with traditional beliefs, specifically those related to Hindu orthodoxy. In the movie, the lead character abandons his wife because of her background from a family of dancers. Subsequently, the husband is blinded in an accident and nursed back to health and happiness by the woman, who unknown to him is revealed to be the same devoted wife he abandoned due to social taboo. Similarly, in Netrikkan (1979), the philandering Rajnikanth ends up on a wheelchair at the end of the film as an appropriate outcome for his lascivious ways throughout the film (also highlighting the desexualization of the disabled). Kashish (1972) is yet another example where the evil brother Asrani who torments his Deaf sister and brother-in-law is himself crippled, which he takes as punishment for his acts. In Dhanwaan (1981) the rich and arrogant atheist Rajesh Khanna is blinded and unable to buy a new pair of eyes for himself and eventually finds a benevolent donor only when he repents and turns to god. There have been much more powerful representations as well, where disability has been represented as equivalent, if not worse, than death. For instance, in Mehboob Ki Mehendi (1971), when the protagonist Pradeep Kumar comes to kill his nemesis Iftikar, he finds him on a wheelchair, and decides then that he is not worth stabbing since he is already disabled and allowing him to live would be a worse punishment than death. Haider (2014) echoes this sentiment, with Shahid Kapoor deciding against killing his uncle despite his strong resolve to avenge his father's murder, partly because of his mother's words "revenge only results in revenge" and partly because he finds his uncle gravely injured with his legs amputated. Perhaps the most enduring portrayal of disability as a punishment is that of ‘Thakur’, the protagonist from possibly the most-watched film in India, Sholay (1975). In this film, Thakur, the police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) has his arms amputated by the bandit Gabbar (Amjad Khan). Unable to avenge himself, Thakur employs two mercenaries to destroy the bandit’s gang, but sets up a climactic duel between himself and Gabbar. He begins the duel by noting that even without his arms, Gabbar is no match for him, and concludes it not by killing Gabbar, but by crushing his arms with spikes. The punishment for the evil is not a swift bullet, but an enduring disability similar to the one imposed on him. Disability as a comic interlude Disability has often been used as comic relief in action movies or light entertainment films. In movies such as Tom, Dick and Harry (2006) and Pyare Mohan (2006), the lead characters have been people with different disabilities, and their interaction with each other and their limitations has been used as a source of entertainment for the audience. Golmaal (Tushar Kapoor with speech disability and Paresh Rawal and his wife as blind), Mujhse Shadi Karogi (Kader Khan as a person with different disability everyday) and Judaai (Upasna Singh with speech disorder) are some other movies where limitations have been exploited for comic effect. Since disability is not the primary theme for these movies, these, unfortunately, have often reinforce the existing stereotypes in an attempt to connect better with the audience. People with intellectual disabilities, in particular, have been represented as comic supporting characters that add an amusing sideshow to the central story for a long time. While Hindi cinema has evolved on various aspects in recent years, for some strange reason, it continues to be irresponsible in its projection of mental illness. According to Andrade et al., considering the potential for harm in the dissemination of misinformation, film-makers should exhibit a greater sense of ethics when creating impressions that might adversely influence health. Similarly, as per Prof. Dinesh Bhugra, compared with Hollywood's portrayal of psychological ailments, Indian cinema is perhaps less enlightened. "The power of the mass media can never be overestimated. Film as a medium should be used to advantage to dispel the stigma associated with psychiatric disorders, and unfortunately, the contrary happens right now." (Bhugra) Disability as heroism There are some films that have projected persons with disabilities as heroes and super-heroes. For instance, in the 1998 Bollywood thriller Dushman, Sanjay Dutt, a blind veteran, fights Ashutosh Rana when he tries to rape Kajol, using his "sixth sense" to determine Rana's position and movement. Similarly, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Arjun Rampal successfully rob a bank despite being blind using their "sixth sense" in Aankhen (2002). While these movies present people with disabilities in a positive light, they also distort the true identity of these people, helping little to improve understanding of and appreciation for the disabled. According to Rustom Irani, an independent film-maker, guest columnist and more than 60% disabled wheelchair user, "There are a couple of disability tropes that need to disappear from Bollywood.....Please don't enhance the other senses and skills of disabled characters to superhuman levels because they lack a particular physical ability." (Nair) Disability as an object of pity and dependence Arguably, the persistent portrayal of people with disabilities as unable to live independently has been a very important setback to the independent living movement for people with disabilities worldwide. In Indian films, the idea of dependence on charity is quite typical. For instance, the 1964 Rajshri classic Dosti features two disabled protagonists, Mohan, who is blind and Ramu, who uses crutches to walk. At the start of the film, Ramu is seen distraught. Everything about the state works against him-cars cause him danger on the street, water tanks on the street have no water, and people don’t respond when he speaks with them, and the only person who does speak to him insults him when Ramu asks him for work by saying “What work can be done by someone like you?” referring to his disability.

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